Are Aaron Judge And Juan Soto The Best MLB Duo Ever?
Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
Obviously, that is some incredibly elite company for the terrific tandem of the Bronx Bombers. The other aforementioned pairs are the most prolific in the history of Major League Baseball.
Judge and Soto may now be able to lay claim to being the greatest pair of teammates to ever play together for a Major League team - at least for one season. However, before the statistics and numbers can be scrutinized, traveling back in time to see how the 2024 iteration of Ruth and Gehrig is a prerequisite.
How Did Judge And Soto Become Teammates In The First Place?
Just under three weeks before Christmas last year, Juan Soto was traded to the Yankees.
The Yankees, of course, did have to relinquish some considerable talent to acquire the generational talent of Juan Soto - Michael King in particular. But this is a trade that any general manager would make every single time.
While it is nearly inconceivable player of Soto's caliber to have been traded twice within 16 months, it seems that the stars were aligned for Judge and Soto to coalesce. After the Yankees finished 82-80 in 2023, the team's worst season in 31 years, Captain Judge had been adamant about the Yankees making some massive overhauls in order to be competitive again.
So What Are Their Individual Numbers Like This Year?
First and foremost, it is a foregone conclusion that Aaron Judge is going to achieve his second MVP. He locked that up weeks ago, and the numbers easily substantiate that.
The Yankees captain has attained the following ranks this season:
first in wRC+ (214) - which means Judge has generated offense 114% better compared to the league average
first in fWAR (10.2)
first in on-base percentage (.456), slugging percentage (.692), home runs (53), RBI (136), walk rate, ISO, and OPS (1.149)
Per Fangraphs, Judge's 2024 OPS of 1.149 would be the 76th-highest in a single season out of 15,587 individual seasons since 1900. He is also just the fifth Yankee ever to register 136 RBI or more in the Expansion Era (since 1961).
Juan Soto's accomplishments are not far behind those of his Yankees teammate, either. If it weren't for yet another historic season from Aaron Judge, then Soto would be right there with Bobby Witt Jr. for the AL MVP.
This season, Soto has put together his finest hitting yet, with the following ranks:
second in wRC+ (179)
fourth in home runs (40)
second in walk rate (18%), which only trails Judge
second in on-base percentage (.417), fifth in slugging (.576), and second in OPS (.994)
fourth in fWAR (7.7)
homered in all 30 MLB ballparks
fifth-fewest games to 40 home runs with the Yankees
joined Ted Williams and Frank Thomas as the only other player in MLB history with at least 200 career home runs and 700 career walks through his first 926 games
How About Their Accomplishments Together?
This is where the conversation about Judge and Soto really gets intriguing.
Judge and Soto have attained the following feats as teammates:
the first set of teammates in MLB history with 35 or more home runs and 120 or more walks
joined Ruth/Gehrig and Maris/Mantle as the only other Yankees teammates with 40 home runs each in a season
rank first and second, respectively, in the aforementioned categories
A Lot Of Historical Context Is Necessary, Too
Ruth and Gehrig, who are still both the best ever at their respective positions, retired well before integration. They were not facing the absolute very best competition. That is not their fault, but it still matters.
Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris did play after integration, but there were still not many non-white players in the Big Show, and Mantle and Maris were also not facing the best of the best.
Barry Bonds used steroids for the last decade of his career, and there is no question his numbers are inflated. Jeff Kent was a late bloomer who did not achieve liftoff until he was 29.
Manny Ramirez was suspended by Major League Baseball twice for violating the league's policy for performance-enhancing drugs. David Ortiz had a failed PED test in 2003.
For all of the aforementioned reasons, I believe Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are the greatest duo in the history of Major League Baseball.
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